Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Last year I finished my second bachelor’s degree and promised myself that this year would be my writing year. I had a plan – a great plan to submit articles, short stories and poems to all sorts of places while I worked on getting the two books I had done published. My plan went out the window sometime in January. This year I’ve self-published ten books. I have a series of poetry books – Moments in Nature, Moments in Spirit, and Moments in Life; a meditation book – Moon Affirmations; a romance novel – Secret Past; a fantasy series with two books – Defenders of the People and Defenders of the Land; and a science fiction series – Wayfarer, Wayfarer Clans, Wayfarer Immemorial. It’s been a fun and surprising year for me and my plan – blown.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Wayfarer Immemorial – science fiction novel, the third in a series. I love Star Trek, Star Wars, and pretty much any story having to do with space. The Wayfarer series started during a period of extreme insomnia over the summer. The third book just flew off my fingers as I worked on it. I love the way the characters have become close friends and how they work to face the troubles they have. I combined romance, adventure, space, special powers all into one short novel and think it turned out really well.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Most of the time, I’m in my recliner with my netbook, a single light on overhead, classical music on and so focused I forget the time and everything except what I’m working on. I swear there are nights I’m going to go to bed early. It ends up being early in the morning not early in the night.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I grew up in a household of readers. There is a joke amongst the brothers-in-law in my family that if you are moving one of the sisters you have to plan on a truckload just for our books. When I think of my favorite books I have a hard time narrowing it down. I’ve read across a wide variety of genres – Anne McCaffrey, Piers Anthony, Nora Roberts / JD Robb, Suzanne Brockmann, Shakespeare, O Henry, Longfellow, Frost, Dickens, Louis L’Amour, JK Rowling, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Tamora Pierce, and I know I’m forgetting more.

What are you working on now?
I always have more than one project going. I’m working on the third in the Defenders series and the fourth in the Wayfarer series. I also have a few short stories I want to get into an anthology.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?

http://www.theindieview.com/indie-reviewers/

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write, write, write, write. When you’re done writing do more. When you think you’ve got it then be tough because there are always people willing to tell you your writing sucks. It might – but keep trying.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“If you’re not being rejected regularly, maybe you’re not trying hard enough.” Kathy Ireland

What are you reading now?
I have three books going – in my car while I drive to and from work I’m listening to Glory in Death by JD Robb. When I’m crocheting, I am listening to Cast in Peril by Michelle Sagara. On my kindle I’m wading through Hidden Currents by Christine Feehan.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Once I finish off the Defenders series (one more I think), I want to go back to non-fiction for a couple of ideas. It just depends on what grabs my attention and what story wants to be told the most.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I’m sorry but any desert island better come with a complete library or wifi so I can download books. If you force my hand to pick just three or four, the complete works of William Shakespeare, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow complete works, JD Robbs in Death series (which I know is way more than four books but they are entertaining). I’ll go without clothes to have more books.

Author Websites and Profiles
Eileen Troemel Website
Eileen Troemel Amazon Profile
Eileen Troemel Author Profile on Smashwords

Eileen Troemel is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve always been in love with words – even before I could read them. I first self-published a poetry when I was 13. I had two honorary mentions in contests promoted by a small press in my hometown – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Then, I decided to do some living. I did improv classes, I went college, I read a ton of books… and I wrote a couple of short films. I also moved from Rio to Toronto… and back again.
I wrote Showmance, the first book in a trilogy about a fake celebrity couple and their crazy fans, based on my work with the Twilight and Harry Potter fandoms. I majored in Film and I love marketing for film… so, getting to know the fandoms was something I had to do. It was just as crazy and amazing as it sounds.
I’m also creating a vast urban fantasy universe that will host several of my stories in different genres, from Paranormal Romance to action and adventure!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The title is Love You to Death. It was inspired by talking my college girlfriends. We were always talking about the guys we were dating and how some of them, as we got to know them, turned out to be completely different people from what we had first imagined. So, I thought “there’s a great plot for a book there. What if the guy is not what the girl imagined at all?”
And the plot just took off from that.
Stories are everywhere… you just have to open your mind to them. You never know where a good story might be lurking, just waiting to be discovered.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. At least, I think I don’t have unusual writing habits. Maybe all my writing habits are crazy. Let’s see… I like to tape things to the wall in front of my desk… like the plot points of a novel. And I have a couple of go-to albums I use for soundtrack for writing. Regardless of the type of scene or plot – or even genre – I’ll listen to the same songs over and over again. Usually, I listen to Aloe Blacc or Panic! at the Disco or Christina Aguilera. But if I get really stuck, I’ll listen to Britney Spears’ Greatest Hits. It works like a charm every time!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
This is a really hard question to answer because I’ll read anything – which might explain why I love genre hopping so much as a writer. I love Oscar Wilde. I love Neil Gaiman. Gillian Flynn, JK Rowling, Mario Puzo and Agatha Christie. And I know they’re not authors, but I’m a huge fan of Billy Wilder and Alfred Hitchcock. They were master storytellers.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on Darkness Falls, which is one of the stories I’m developing in the urban fantasy universe I’m building. It’s Paranormal Romance with tons intrigue and action. It’s a story of unlikely heroes, damsels who refuse to be in distress, pro-Humanity terrorists and political conflicts solved by fights to the death.
I’m also working on the second book in the Showmance trilogy, Smoke and Mirrors.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
This is will sound like a cliché (and I hate clichés), but writing the best book you can write is still the best strategy I can think of. And write a lot. Then, you can start promoting your work little by little, build from there. But without good books, you can invest a ton in marketing and nothing will happen.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Know what you want from your writing. It’s OK to write for a hobby – if that’s what you want. If you want to be a professional writer, an author, focus on that. Take it as seriously as a day job. Respect your colleagues. And have fun.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
It was something my screenwriting Professor said in college: you’re asking people to devote their time to you, in a way. They’ll give you time and money in exchange for a story. So, make it worth their while. Tell a good story and tell it well.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading three books. I always read three books at a time.
01: A book on self-publishing written by the great Joanna Penn,
02: Lock In, by John Scalzi and
03: A Storm of Swords, by George RR Martin

What’s next for you as a writer?
The release of Love You to Death on November 17th.
And the release of Darkness Falls in January.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Three books? Easy!
One: A survival guide. (Does Bear Grylls write survival guides?); two: A book on how to build rafts ans escape islands; and three: The complete works of Arthur Conan Doyle – because if I get stuck on the island, at least I’ll have good reading material.

Author Websites and Profiles
Vivian Wolkoff Amazon Profile

Vivian Wolkoff’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Vivian Wolkoff is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a philosopher by training, and used to run a small software development business. But writing has become my passion and my life, and drowned out the possibility of any other professions. Putting words on paper (or text on a screen) is the only activity I’ve engaged in that makes my world feel full.

The Solace Pill is the first novel (split into three episodes) I’ve published. But I’ve written another Dystopian novel that will be released early next year. I’m excited to have people read my work.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Solace Pill is about a near-future world in which 3D printing entire humans is common-place, and the pace of life is impossibly fast. The idea came to me by watching the persistent, fascinating news on printing functional human organs. Sure, we can print individual organs, but what will happen to society when we can print whole people?

This question raises interesting questions around the philosophy of personal identity: who am I? When I make a copy of myself, and destroy the original, do I survive in the copy? If there is more than one of me, am I all of the copies? The Solace Pill seeks to answer these questions and more.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My muse sleeps during the day, and wakes after midnight. This has turned my life upside down, and has required a lot of patience from the special people in my life. But, really, all the magic happens in the quiet hours of the night, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Philip K. Dick is my favorite author. His plethora of original worlds is enough to make anyone want to write. Hugh Howey is a hero to me. The way he’s managed to launch the Wool books has been an inspiration, and enormously educational. And they’re great books too!

What are you working on now?
Exciting, exciting things! Watch this space for some bizarre, soul-twisting Dystopia.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
For The Solace Pill series I chose to promote the books through every method I could think of other than KDP Select. This involved publishing the books on multiple platforms in addition to Amazon, through Smashwords. I then set the first episode in the trilogy to perma-free on Amazon, and I’m intrigued to see the results.

Finally, thanks to Awesomegang for promoting the first episode.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write, write, write! There are so many ways to avoid writing, including reading this post. But really, what you need to be doing is finishing novels. That, and listen to audiobooks. LISTENING to books gives you practice in writing the spoken word, rather than the written word.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Rule 1. Show, don’t tell.

Rule 2. All rules should be broken.

What are you reading now?
Beyond the Blue Event Horizon, by Frederik Pohl – awesome tech;

The Blind Assassin, by Margaret Atwood – read Atwood and you’ll feel the raindrops falling on the mulberry tree outside your window.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have a third novel I’m about to start writing. It’s ambitious, and a little scary in scope. The start of every novel is scary – it’s a whole new world to build and polish. Characters are lovingly birthed and killed off; lots of emotional involvement requirement.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
1. My diary

2. Gormenghast, by Mervyn Peake

3. A collection of Romantic era poetry

Author Websites and Profiles
Jason Werbeloff Amazon Profile
Jason Werbeloff Author Profile on Smashwords

Jason Werbeloff’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Jason Werbeloff is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi,

well, I’m 46, married and living in Belfast, Northern Ireland. I only started to write a few months ago, and now find that I can’t stop. You see, I’d been telling my daughters a different bedtime story every night since they were little. When the youngest informed me one night that she was maybe getting a bit old for them, I needed another outlet for the gibberish in my head. Hence the books

I’m currently working on a series of books I call the Tales of the Neverwar. It’s a brew of sci-fi and fantasy with a love story running in the background. I’ve fallen in love with my characters, not surprisingly as a few of them are based on my daughters and their friends. The Neverwar series is an Epic story of a struggle to prevent all reality being consumed by a being of pure evil.

Book one is Souls of the Never. It introduces all the main players and starts telling the story of my world. It’ll take you from a humble beginning is Boston, MA, out to a battle on another planet and beyond.

I’ve also written a short(13,000 words) prequel titled Origins of the Never.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I suppose Origins of the Never is my latest. It came about when I scrapped the prologue I’d originally included in Souls. It was cheesy and not well written, but it had a lot of history and background to some of the characters. I decided I wanted to do it justice. Hopefully I have.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I wrote most of my first book on a tablet. Although I found it really handy to do so I’m not sure I’ll do it again. It introduced some spectacular mistakes into my manuscript that I’m still finding now.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love all types of books, but my recent favourites are the Honor Harrington series by David Weber. If I can get the readers to love my characters the way I love his, I’ll be happy.

What are you working on now?
I’ve started Book two of the series, provisionally titled Worlds of the Never. I’m having a blast with it, as I’d left it alone to complete the prequel.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m note sure. I’m pretty active on Twitter when it comes to actually promoting. ost of the other social media pages I belong to are more about helping out and having fun. I have a website, and a blog, both of which have fallen idle lately.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t rush in. I know you will be keen to get your book out there. I know I was. It resulted in a book being released with a ton of typos and grammar errors which I’m still finding. Take you time.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
See above. Oh, and don’t spam promo your books across every page on social media that you can find. Very soon people will just ignore you or blacklist you. All this advice I’m giving is from personal experience. I did it and cringe when I look back.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading a book written by one of them members of a Facebook group I belong to. It’s called See you in Hell by Demelza Carlton. It’s great fun.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Write, edit, write, edit. Isn’t it that same for all of us?

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Lord of the Rings, The Silmarrillion and the Divergent books, simply because my daughter has been nagging me to read them.

Author Websites and Profiles
Colin Rutherford Website
Colin Rutherford Amazon Profile
Colin Rutherford Author Profile on Smashwords

Colin Rutherford’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Colin Rutherford is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a YA Fantasy Author. My first book, Blackthorn: Revenge of the Dragon Rider, a Dark Dystopian Urban Fantasy was published in October 2012. I’ve just released my new novel Everlong (Book One of the Everlong Trilogy) a YA Paranormal Urban Fantasy Romance.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is a YA Paranormal Urban Fantasy Romance, inspired by my favourite fairy tale, The Little Mermaid. Although one of my favourites, the ending had never seemed quite right to me, even a little unsatisfying, and I wanted to rectify that. Somehow the concept of the Angel of Death popped into my head and I thought what would make an Angel of Death go against everything that he stood for? The two concepts somehow merged together in my crazy brain and the Angel of Death suddenly became the mermaid in my mind. As the mermaid gave up her voice, her life for her prince, the Angel of Death, Josh Winters, gives up his life for love. I wanted to question the gender stereotyping of the mermaid, the damsel in distress, so although you might think Evie is the damsel in the beginning, by the end of the book that concept is turned on its head.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Too many to mention!
I have so many books that have influenced me and I’m an eclectic reader – The Godfather by Mario Puzo, The Harry Potter novels, Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman, The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder, The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly and all the classic fairy tales, but I couldn’t pick one, that would be like asking me to choose a favourite child. It just wouldn’t happen.

What are you working on now?
Everlong Two, Book Two of my trilogy. Haven’t come up with a title yet, that usually happens near the end of the process.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Goodreads

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Ignore all advice and follow your gut.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
This is difficult because you get one bit of advice and you think it’s great then someone else comes along and contradicts it. The best advice is advice that fits with who you are as a writer and a person. Be you, because no one else can be you (was that Dr Seuss?)

What are you reading now?
The Key by Jennifer Anne Davis, it was recommended to me on Goodreads. I can’t comment yet though, as I’ve only just started it.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Book Three of the Trilogy and some short story ideas I want to work on, concerning the Devil returning to earth.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Trembling of a Leaf – W. Somerset Maugham (My Grandfather gave me the book, brings back some amazing memories :))
Sophie’s World – Jostein Gaarder
A big encyclopedia of fairy tales
The Odyssey – Homer

Author Websites and Profiles
Nikki Morgan Website
Nikki Morgan Amazon Profile
Nikki Morgan Author Profile on Smashwords

Nikki Morgan’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Pinterest Account

Nikki Morgan is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hello my name is Tina Ness. I’m a Contemporary Romance Author from Minnesota. My first novel It Will Always Be You is the first of three books from my You Series, however this isn’t one of those books that leaves you with a cliffhanger that requires you “have to” buy the next book. I do hope that you enjoy it enough to just want to continue on with the series. I ran my own photography business from my home for eight years before finally deciding to take the leap and do what I’ve always dreamed to do and I haven’t regretted it for one single second since that day. It feels like what I was meant to do.
I live in Minnesota with my wonderful husband, two teen daughters and two crazy boxer dogs. I have a very close extended family that I spend a lot of time with also. I’m a romance junkie with a love for food, wine, fitness and nutrition. I enjoy cross-country skiing, boating, fishing, photography, writing, reading, travel and simply anything that inspires me or makes me laugh.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
It Will Always Be You. I have to honest when I starting writing this book I didn’t know where it was going at all, it really just flowed from me organically. It was kind of a spiritual experience for me. I still read it and think “Oh, my God, I actually wrote that.”

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Same as answer above. I don’t plan I just let it flow organically. I don’t ever write unless I’m really feeling it.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I know it’s a bit of a lame answer, but not one author really sticks out in my head. There are bits and pieces of many authors that resonate. Most of what I read is romance, although I do keep intending to broaden my genre experiences.
Emma Chase’s writing style in Tangled however does stick out in my head due to the unique writing style and male perspective and Jamie McGuire and Coleen Hoover are stand outs as well, however I do miss the steamy when reading them.

What are you working on now?
Promoting my book like a mad women and trying to catch up on housework! Honestly it’s all I have time for right now being that I need to introduce myself to the book loving world to sell books. I will be getting back to the second book Before There Was You of my series VERY soon though!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
That is a good question that I’m trying to find out for myself right now!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Well for me it was my contact and consultant at Wise Ink Publishing. I am self-published, but worked with Wise Ink for consulting, developmental editing and basic editing. This to me was well worth every penny. Consulting for me is #1!
Also, be VERY open to everything the tell you to work on, this is how you grow!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I have been studying Law of Attraction with Abraham Hicks for about two years and everything I have read and listened to has made me believe in myself and this is a very new concept to me. If you truly believe within every ounce of your being that you will have something, you will. It is really that simple! I have to say from the second I decided to become an author I haven’t questioned myself once. I’m not kidding!

What are you reading now?
Honestly, just finished my own book. There is something about reading your own book on something other than your computer that is so very cool!

Next on my list however is Wallbanger by Alice Clayton

I will also be looking for any female written romance book from a male perspective, since my next book Before There Was You is told from my character Marshall’s perspective.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I need a vacation! It’s been a REALLY long time!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Lisa Renee Jones, Inside Out Trilogy
Emma Chase, Twisted and Tangled series (okay, so I cheated a little by picking two series)
Eat, Pray, Love (saw the movie, but never read the book)
Money and the Law of Attraction, Ester and Jerry Hicks

Author Websites and Profiles
Tina Ness Website
Tina Ness Amazon Profile

Tina Ness’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tina Ness is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Carol Fragale Brill is the author of two novels, PEACE BY PIECE and CAPE MAYBE. She earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Her fiction received recognition from Poets and Writers and was a reader’s favorite for The Best of Philadelphia Stories. Her works have also appeared in Wide Array, New York Journal of Books, the Press of Atlantic City, and various online e-zines and business journals. In her “day job” as a Leadership Coach and educator she frequently uses stories in training.

Find her book reviews for New York Journal of Books at http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/reviewer/carol-brill

And her blog at http://4broadminds.blogspot.com/search/label/Carol

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
CAPE MAYBE is my latest novel. It was inspired by Katie, the narrator, who just started talking to me one day with an urgency to tell her story. The setting, beautiful, seaside, Victorian, Cape May, NJ, is where I live and also my favorite place on earth. Readers often tell me, my passion for Cape May comes through in how the setting is conveyed in the story.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Years ago, after my husband, Jim read a line about 64 crayons in a very early draft of my first novel, PEACE BY PIECE, he bought me a green and yellow box of 96 crayons—equipped with a built-in sharpener. For over a dozen years, that box has sat on my desk reminding me of Jim’s unwavering support. No one ever colors with my crayons, but browsing through the colors often recharges my creative batteries.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Where to begin? Andriana Trigiani, Michele Richmond, Kaye Gibbons, Marisa de los Santos, Sara Gruen, Sue Monk Kidd, Patricia Gaffney, Sue Miller, Anita Shreve, and let’s not forget, The Brother’s Grimm. My list goes on and on.

What are you working on now?
Lately, I’m writing non-fiction, my blog at http://bit.ly/1jNIjO0, some pieces about Cancer–I was diagnosed with uterine cancer in June 2014, and I write book reviews for New York Journal of Books. I’m toying with writing a children’s story and a new blog or non-fiction book about my cancer journey.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Of course, I love Awesomegang. And, I’ve had some success with KDP free days and countdowns. My favorite method of promoting is more grassroots, visiting local book clubs and giving book talks.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Put in the time to learn the craft of writing, show don’t tell, developing characters and plot, POV. Network with other writers, attend conferences, find a writing group and critique partners for support. And, the sooner you learn that good writing is all about rewriting, the sooner you’ll become the best writer you can be.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Related to writing, the same advice I give other writer–put in the time to learn the craft.

What are you reading now?
Just finished Jodi Picoult’s wonderful, Leaving Time and wrote a review for New York Journal of Books, http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/leaving-time

Now I’m reading Orphan Train

What’s next for you as a writer?
Keep writing, for now non-fiction, but who knows what the future will bring.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Book Thief, To Kill a Mockingbird, Queen of the Big Time, and maybe a classic I’ve never read, like Ulysses.

Author Websites and Profiles
Carol Fragale Brill Website
Carol Fragale Brill Amazon Profile

Carol Fragale Brill’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Carol Fragale Brill is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a writer living in Tuscany. I will assure you that it’s far less pretentious than it sounds. I was born in Toronto, Canada. I am 39 years and 94 months old. In my quest for happiness, I followed Nora Ephron’s advice: “Secret to life, marry an Italian.” I love writing humorous stories and enjoy reading and cooking. I have written one book so far, however Italy continues to be a wonderful muse so a second book is in the making!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
A Zany Slice of Italy. Family and quirky events taking place daily were my greatest inspiration! One reviewer sums it up perfectly:

“Italy hands Mrs Di Felice some lemons so she makes lemonade and had enough left over for a big slice of lemon pie! So much better than what she was expecting, and good thing, for if she got what she expected, there would be no book to write or at least not such a jolly one!”

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Each afternoon I go for a walk in the lovely Tuscan countryside. I travel with a notepad in hand and much to the intrigue of the unofficial “Italian neighborhood watch program” I scribble down any funny thoughts that come to mind in regard to the events of the past day. The curiosity of the neighbors further motivates me to write about quirky characters! The following morning I make a large pot of coffee and based on the notes of the previous day I write a humorous (well I believe it to be so and so does my mom!) story. Each chapter of my book is a separate story that is an easy read.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Bill Bryson and Nora Ephron. I love their style of writing; not too “flowery” but written with honesty and wit.

What are you working on now?
My next book – basically part two of A Zany Slice of Italy.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I find Kindle countdowns have worked for me. I am just starting to find new sites (like Awesomegang) to do some free and some paid promotions.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Hire a professional editor. Yes, they are expensive but we owe it to the people buying our books and to other indie authors – we want to achieve a high level of quality with the books we publish so as to make a good name for ourselves.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
My editor suggested a sample edit to ensure we were a “good fit.” I took her advice and sent one story from my book to five editors and requested a sample. I then compared all five edited versions and found the editor that best fit my style of writing and got my sense of humor. I was eager for her to edit as much as possible to make my book appeal to the masses but her advice to me was to keep my ‘unique humorous voice.’ She also advised ‘You can use passive voice and adverbs to good effect as long as you don’t overuse them. Especially in humorous writing, sometimes they help create your unique voice… But with humor, sometimes the wording and delivery are more important than any rule, and a sentence has to be like a joke’s punch line.’ She really was a terrific editor that helped me tremendously!

What are you reading now?
I am re-reading The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Keep writing, keep improving, and keep promoting! I especially would love for my book to take off with the children of Italian immigrants. I have dedicated the book to them and think they would be able to relate and get a real laugh out of it.

DEDICATION

I dedicate this story to all of you children of Italian immigrants—and this includes my husband, David. To you who dream about the grandeur of Florence, Venice, and Rome. Wine tastings in charming Tuscan hilltop towns. Sitting impeccably dressed in piazzas, watching the good-looking world go by.

The reality is that when you visit Italy, you’ll be hijacked by relatives of all sorts; the entire family tree is waiting to meet you. You will catch glimpses of world-renowned monuments, but only fleeting ones from the car window, en route to the cement suburbs. You will eventually get a tour of all that is considered impressive—namely, the vegetable garden with its prized tomatoes. You will have “romantic” dinners in Rome, but you’ll eat at boardroom-size tables with direct views of ramshackle sheds. You will return home with souvenirs from Italy: thick thighs and an extra roll around the middle.

Fear not, though—one day you’ll learn to escape. Many of your schemes will be thwarted, and it may take several trips, but with persistence you can make it happen. Then you’ll finally get to see the splendors of Venice and the beauty of Florence. You will sit in a piazza in a Tuscan hilltop town, though by that time you’ll probably be ten pounds heavier and wearing comfortable shoes. But for now, as you drink your uncle’s bad wine and listen to the sound of accordion music and roosters that never take a break, know that this book is dedicated to you.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
1. Desert Island Cuisine

2. 101 recipes using edible roots

3. Edible roots for Dummies

and the fourth book would Nora Ephron’s “I Remember Nothing.”

Author Websites and Profiles
Ivanka Di Felice Amazon Profile

Ivanka Di Felice is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m the author of two independently publish novels, Khe, and Shadowline Drift. A follow-on book to Khe is now in the editing stage and will be published in early 2015. I lean toward stories that are slightly to the side of normal. My science fiction novel, Khe, has two alien species and no humans. It was challenging to write because I couldn’t use Earth references: a food couldn’t taste like a cross between and apple and a coconut, for example, because no one on that planet had ever seen or tasted an apple or a coconut. But it also was freeing to tell a story without human characters. Things happen to Khe that I’m not sure I could have written had she been human.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I’m character-driven as a writer. Shadowline Drift came about when the character of Jake Kendrick–a man who’d stopped his growth when he was five, had gone on to build a successful career as a negotiator, and finds himself facing a formidable foe as the story opens–showed up in my mind one April day. His nemesis, Mawgis, the chief of a small Amazonian tribe in possession of a mineral that could end world hunger, showed up at the same time. Both men have strong characters and want what they want. Writing their story was an adventure.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I can’t write if my desk is crowded. It restricts my creativity somehow.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are so many contemporary authors I admire: Ursula Le Guin, Margaret Atwood, Dennis Lehane, Donna Tartt, C.J. Cherryh, Walter Mosley–writers who know how to submerge you completely into the worlds they’ve created.

What are you working on now?
I’m in the editing stages of a follow-on book to Khe, called Ashes and Rain. I’m also working on as yet unnamed prequel to Khe.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
BookBub ads are by far the most effective way to promote that I’ve found.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read and write, write and read. You can’t do too much of either.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
This too shall pass.

What are you reading now?
Naked Determination: 41 Stories About Overcoming Fear by Gisela Hausmann

What’s next for you as a writer?
More writing. They’ll be a third Khe book, after the second and the prequel come out (I never can do anything in the proper order.) I’ve long wanted to write a historical novel set in the early 1900s in Oklahoma. I have an idea for a mystery with fantastic elements set in Athens, Greece with an ex-pat American “accidental detective.” There’s always another story to be told.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt, The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, Technicians of the Sacred, by Jerome Rothenberg, and The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver.

Author Websites and Profiles
Alexes Razevich Website
Alexes Razevich Amazon Profile

Alexes Razevich’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Alexes Razevich is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Mary L. Ball writes Christian fiction. She lives in North Carolina and weaves stories about real life problems, blended with romance.

Her novels include, Escape to Big Fork Lake, Stone of Destiny, Postmarked Ever After and Redemption in Big Fork Lake.

When she’s not working on her latest story, she enjoys fishing, reading, and singing with her husband at various functions. Readers can connect with her on Face Book and Twitter.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Christmas at Angel Ranch is my newest release. The inspiration for this romance novella was the coming holiday season, and my hubby, who enjoys deer hunting.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes, sometimes I change the characters names several times, after I get a feel for who they are.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Hands down, it’s Nicholas Sparks. I like the way he intertwines romance and faith.
I’d have to say the Bible has influence me the most, and I’m sure it will continue to give me strength to face each obstacle.

What are you working on now?
I’m in the editing process with my publisher (Prism Book Group) to finish my coming soon inspirational fiction, Redemption in Big Fork Lake. It takes the reader back to visit with the characters in my debut book, Escape to Big Fork Lake. The release is set for Nov.19, 2014.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Awesome gang is a wonderful way to promote and their FB page is good to.
I like Reader’s Choice. Also, doing interviews with fellow authors, I believe is important.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep on writing and don’t be afraid to submit queries, after all you’ve nothing to lose.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Rewrite! Honestly, The editor-in-chief of Prism Book Group told me to rewrite my debut story and than resubmit it to her. I kept the plot and the important elements of the story, but polished it and took out the garbage. Since then, I’ve found that it’s essential to do the first draft and then rewrite. It often takes many rewrites to get a story to its glory.

What are you reading now?
I just finished reading Diane Dean White’s new release, Winter Wonderland. It’s a great book and took me back to a simpler time in a big city.
I read a lot more novels online, than from the book stores. The internet is full of talented authors.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m working on Sparks of Love. It’s a romance with a suspense element. I’m toying with the idea of making it into a series which should be challenging.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I’ve been asked this before and I have to say The Holy Bible, Message in a Bottle, by Nicholas Sparks and From Letters to Grace, by Terri Crews.

Author Websites and Profiles
Mary L. Ball Website
Mary L. Ball Amazon Profile

Mary L. Ball’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Mary L. Ball is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a mom and wife who loves to laugh, dance, travel, and ride roller coasters I consider myself a pretty crafty person. I have written 11 books (I think), but only 5 are published so far. #6 will release in June 2015

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My newest book is called TRY ME ON FOR SIZE! It’s about a failing lingerie shop that needs a big new idea to save it. And they sure do come up with a “BIG” idea My brain often wanders…and sometimes it wanders to naughty places. I wondered what it would be like to “interview” potential dildo models. Sounded pretty fun to me

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I get distracted very easily, but I guess that’s not too weird! But when I’m really into it though, and concentrating really hard, I clench my jaw and give myself a headache. I found that if I have hard candy in my mouth, I’m okay.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m influenced by authors who can have me laughing one minute, then bawling my eyes out the next. I love that roller coaster of emotion. One of my favorites is Ann Brashares and her Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series.

What are you working on now?
I’ve got a lot on my plate actually! I’m self-editing a book I just finished called LEMONADE IN HELL. I’m also working on edits for the sequel to TRY ME ON FOR SIZE, called SIZE MATTERS, with my editora at Simon and Schuster. AND I’m doing NaNoWriMo.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I think I’ve been the most successful with Twitter I adore Facebook, but it’s aggravating that only a small fraction of my followers actually see my posts

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just write. Finish a book and write another one. You get better with each one. The first will most likely not be your big break…or # 2 or #3.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I think my writing took a major turn for the better when I finally learned how to show and not tell. Stupid little things like replacing “was” with more powerful verbs and showing more with less words.

What are you reading now?
I’m reading THE WEDDING HOAX by Heather Thurmeier, a fabulous writer friend of mine

What’s next for you as a writer?
My plan for 2015 is to write more and diversify. I would like to get my books out with a couple different publishers, and write books in different lengths.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Wow! Definitely the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series (does that count as 1 or 5???) Gone With the Wind, because I love it. A Surviving on an Island book??? LOL

Author Websites and Profiles
Stephanie Haefner Website
Stephanie Haefner Amazon Profile

Stephanie Haefner’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Stephanie Haefner is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in Japan. I don’t know what’s wrong with these people but practically no one speaks English. They create these odd sounds and act like they understand one another. But I don’t believe it for a minute. It’s pure gibberish.

Anyway, I don’t have anyone to talk to. For a while I had these imaginary friends who no one else could see. But they split when I wouldn’t share my dessert with them. Come on! They don’t even exist. Why should I give them any of my Rice Krispy treats?

Then I discovered writing. I thought, this is great! I make people up and give them dialogue. If I don’t like what they say or if they start getting an attitude, blam! I hit delete and they’re history.

So now I have lots of people to talk to. Actually, too many. I’ve got so many stories in my head, it’s starting to look like the mall on Black Friday. There’s a brawl going on in there all of the time and I can’t sleep. It’s making me crazy! Now my characters are organizing a union. I’ll tell you, it’s getting out of control!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Man Who Loved Too Much – Book 1: Archipelago

This book is very autobiographical. I am still working out issues connected to my being branded in Catholic school by a sadistic nun, my showing up at prom in a track suit (no one told me it was a formal), and being kidnapped by a tribe of Amazonian goddesses and forced to be a sperm donor (I might have imagined this).

Having said that, there are no characters which anyone can point to and say, “I know who that is, dude!” But certainly I drew on the general malaise of growing up in a blue collar (i.e. trailer park trash) community and trying to communicate with people who only had a seven word vocabulary. There are a number of scenes in the book which actually happened to me, though I was never used as a spit target in gym class nor was my first kiss from an atheist nun.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
First, I turn on the fan. Then I usually realize I forgot to take out the garbage. So I do that. Of course, now I see there’s all sorts of gunk in the bottom of the garbage container from the tomatoes that went bad and the mushrooms that turned to slime. So I have to clean up that mess.

Finally, I sit down to write. Oops! Forgot to check my FB account. Whoa! 87 new notices. People loved that video I posted of a kitten chasing a rhinoceros. Hmm. Bad news. It looks like over 30 people deleted me as a friend. What did I do? Could it have been the blog I wrote about Mitt Romney being a pedophile?

I’m exhausted. Writing sure takes it out of me.

I decide I need a nap. I’ll get 20 winks, wake up fresh, ready to really roll!

I try to sleep. But they are slaughtering a yak next door, beating it to death with garden rakes. You’d think they could come up with a more humane way to kill the thing. Jeeeeez!

I take a sip of wine from a newly opened bottle to try to relax. I decide to just finish the whole thing off.

The next few hours are a blank. I wake up in the bathtub. I’m hugging a bag of fertilizer. The doorbell is ringing.

I run to see who it is. Ah! The post man. My new Fiction Writing software has arrived. Excellent! This could be the shot in the arm my career needs.

I spend the rest of the day trying to install the program. My Windows laptop keeps giving me error messages.

‘The library catalog file clutter_register.ini is missing. Please reinstall operating system.’

After five hours of this, I am famished!

I head down to the drive-thru window for Octopus Rainbow Glad Luck. It’s Chinese fast food. They refuse to serve me because I’m on a bicycle. I go inside. Everything is in Chinese. I order something by pointing. They bring me monkey entrails on a croissant. Not very appetizing.

This would be a total waste of time, except thinking ahead, I brought my computer. Munching away, keeping the blood and grease from dripping into my keyboard, I begin . . .

“Once upon a time, there was a large tree in the middle of an island. A boy of eleven years old leaned against it. A stranger approached him from behind. The boy turned. The man was wearing a ‘Mitt Romney for President’ button.”

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Jerzy Kosinski, Stanislaw Lem, Tom Robbins, John Irving, Sinclair Lewis, James Baldwin, Ken Kesey as fiction writers all affected me profoundly.

Neil Postman’s “Amusing Ourselves To Death” changed my life.

The Sears catalog was important during the early years of puberty.

What are you working on now?
Currently in development is a new novel set in Japan, another in Africa, and a creative non-fiction work, allegedly an account of my extensive travels, but more likely the product of the voices in my head which have plagued me since puberty. Is that a unicorn on my kitchen table?

I have already finished Books 2 and 3 of “The Man Who Loved Too Much Trilogy”. I put them in a safe and am holding an auction. Any reasonable bid which will set me up for life and I promise not to publish them.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I found that bribing a key book reviewer at the New York Times works quite well but it can be pricey. I’ve tried posting videos of me poll dancing in a Buddhist temple but that attracted a strange following. I kept getting asked if my books were available in Tibetan. Same thing with hyperlinking to porn sites. Believe me, those people DON’T READ. I am thinking about putting a Bank of America logo on my banner to see if that works.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
If it feels good, do it.

Never take no for an answer.

There’s a reason for everything.

Avoid cliches.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Get out of the road! There’s a truck coming.

What are you reading now?
A phenomenal travel book about China! “44 Days Backpacking in China” by Jeff Brown. Great travel tips, political insights and commentary, brilliant observations about the culture of China past and present by someone who speaks Chinese fluently.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Backing up my hard drive.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
“The Painted Bird” by Jerzy Kosinski.

“One Human Minute” by Stanislaw Lem.

“Infinite Jest” by David Foster Wallace.

“Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” by William Shirer.

Author Websites and Profiles
John Rachel Website
John Rachel Amazon Profile
John Rachel Author Profile on Smashwords

John Rachel’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

John Rachel is a post from Awesome Gang

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Good morning! Thanks so much to all you Awesome Readers and Writers in the gang.

I wrote and published my first book back in the seventies … it was nonfiction. The next decades were devoted to making a living in advertising and marketing. Now I am finally following my real dream: to write quality fiction for readers who can handle dark subjects delivered in a light tone to make it palatable.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I have just published two books.

BEAR IN MIND is a mystery set in an adult home facility. A retired PI and the other residents take on a mysterious death. This book is the result of my firm belief that seniors are often misrepresented in the media. Most of us are not feeble … nor do we want to climb rock walls or zip line to anywhere. Our bodies may be slowing but our minds are as sharp as ever. The Bear in Mind gang is smart, involved and a tribute to the older end of the baby boomer generation.

A TIME OF SECRETS is a mystery set on the Big Island of Hawaii. I have loved this island for decades, having first visited it before it was a state. I wanted to present the culture and lifestyle of a variety of quirky natives set against a background so dark with suspense that it nearly overwhelms them. If you have an affection for Hawaii, you may well enjoy the pidgin English, the crafts and the volcanic romance of this tropical paradise.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I must have hot coffee and lots of clutter. My desk looks like an explosion, but I know where every single thing is. I also must have at least one dog asleep at my feet … at the moment, there are two. I’m told that I talk to myself although I can’t prove that. I can prove that I swear a blue streak when the work isn’t going well.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ve been reading for decades so the list would overwhelm. I am only going to mention three recent influences:

Robert B. Parker for dialog. The man was brilliant at that.

Walter Mosley’s The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey. This is a story of a senior making his way through his last years. It is an amazing piece of writing that taught me how involving the life of an old person can be regardless of the reader’s age … editors today feel there is no audience for it and they are so wrong. And BTW, Mosley’s This Year You Write Your Novel is great fun for those of you with the itch.

The Louise Penny series set in Three Pines has taught me how to braid together a variety of characters and complex plot. In addition, her books are just damn good fun.

What are you working on now?
I am finishing the second of the Bear Jacobs series which is called Hard to Bear. Also, I am fussing with a fantasy series that I currently call Cascadian Revels. It’s a different genre for me, and at the moment it is giving me a really tough wrestling match.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My website is not devoted only to my books. The blog there is about life in general. I get more followers thru Facebook and Twitter, but I like my blog the best to really meet friends and readers. It’s at www.lindabmyers.com

For methods not under my own control, I have had luck with Book Gorilla.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
These comments are for fiction writers:

A. Writing today is about marketing. It’s a hard fact for those of us who prefer to skulk around in the dark … prepare to shine a bright light on yourself. Suck it up, cupcake.

B. Also, the fastest way to making any money is through genre writing categories like romance, sci fi, fantasy, erotica, ya, etc. These do better as ebooks because they are easier to find than books which are general fiction.

C. Think of a writing career as running a business. Prepare to spend some money to promote your product. Look at your first book not as your baby, but as your best tool to sell your second book.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The future of our nation and our world is largely in question. The idea of saving your money for your future? Well, not so much anymore. Get out there and get your experiences while you are young. You will live on those memories.

What are you reading now?
My friend Renee Rosen has just published her second novel, What the Lady Wants. I downloaded it yesterday.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Hmmm. Well, for my money, Harper Lee already wrote the Great American Novel. So that goal is taken.

I guess, like it or not, it is time for me to get out there and promote the work I have done while I save enough time to continue with more. In the meantime, speaking engagements, social media, and the like.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
A. New York Times crossword puzzles

B. Survival Wisdom & Know-How

C. Poisonwood Bible

D. The Sherlock Holmes canon

Author Websites and Profiles
Linda B. Myers Website
Linda B. Myers Amazon Profile

Linda B. Myers’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Linda B. Myers is a post from Awesome Gang